Tantasqua student mourned after motorcycle crash

Tuesday

Aug 19, 2014 at 2:04 PMAug 19, 2014 at 10:26 PM

By Kim Ring TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

HOLLAND — A Holland teenager who died Tuesday morning after his motorcycle crashed on Leadmine Road in Sturbridge was on his way to driver's education, his mother said during a vigil for her son Tuesday night.

Colin R. Krenzul, 16, was a student at Tantasqua Regional High School and a standout in motorcycle hill climbing.

“He just went pro,” Anna Krenzul said as she watched more than 150 people gather at the boat ramp on Leno Road for a candlelight vigil not far from where her son grew up.

Police said they were called at about 8:30 a.m. to 508 Leadmine Road on a report of a motorcycle crash. Mr. Krenzul's motorcycle was the only vehicle involved, police said.

Mr. Krenzul was unresponsive at the scene, police said in a news release. He was rushed to Harrington Memorial Hospital in Southbridge, where he was pronounced dead.

Friends stood silently around an array of candles on the pavement that spelled out Krenzul #170, near a cross of tea lights. Two of Mr. Krenzul's hill climbing motorcycles were displayed near several photographs of him riding in competitions.

Occasionally, people came forward to say a few words about how much Mr. Krenzul would be missed, how humble he was and how they enjoyed knowing him.

Gary Krenzul sat near his son's bike and wept. He stood several times and thanked people for coming.

“Colin would be proud he had so many friends,” he said, just before a woman began reciting the Lord's Prayer and others joined in.

Balloons and a Chinese lantern were released over the water as the crowd, many of them teenagers and classmates, sobbed and hugged one another.

Ms. Krenzul said she knew when she was pregnant that her son would be active and “headed for great things.” She said he was 3 years old when she set him on a motorcycle for the first time and his path was set.

His hill-climbing rides took him to many states and he planned to have a career in riding. He'd been gathering sponsors and promoting himself online.

When he wasn't riding he spent time with his father and mother, who are divorced, and with his friends. He also leaves his stepbrother Joshua Lord, 23.

“He has a dog, Riley, that's really going to miss him ... and his cats. He loved his cats,” Ms. Krenzul said.

In an automated telephone message from Tantasqua Regional High School, where he would have entered his junior year, parents were notified of the accident and Mr. Krenzul's death.

“We want to make sure that students and families know that the high school guidance office will be open for counseling for the next two days,” the message said. “Students do not need an appointment; they can just come right in and visit with us from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.”

The Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Accident Reconstruction Unit, Sturbridge police and district attorney's office are investigating the crash.